April 8
Events *217 - Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated (and succeeded) by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus. *1093 - The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by Walkelin. *1139 - Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated. *1149 - Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum. *1271 - In Syria, sultan Baybars conquers the Krak of Chevaliers. *1492 - Death of Lorenzo de' Medici, dubbed "The Magnificent", ruler of Florence and patron of arts. *1513 - Explorer Juan Ponce de León declares Florida a territory of Spain . *1730 - Shearith Israel, the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated. *1767 - Ayutthaya kingdom falls to Burmese invaders. *1820 - The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Melos. *1832 - Black Hawk War: Around 300 United States 6th Infantry troops leave St. Louis to fight the Sauk Native Americans. *1848 - Battle of Goito, part of the Italian Wars of Independence *1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Mansfield - Union forces are thwarted by a Confederate army at Mansfield. *1866 - Italy and Prussia ally against Austria-Hungary. *1867 - The first World's Fair is inaugurated in Paris. *1886 - William Ewart Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill into the British House of Commons. *1893 - The first recorded college basketball game occurs in Beaver Falls. *1895 - The United States Supreme Court declares income tax to be unconstitutional in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & Trust Co. *1899 - Martha Place becomes the first woman to be executed in an electric chair. *1904 - The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale. * 1904 - British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the first chapter of the Book of the Law. * 1904 - Longacre Square in Midtown Manhattan is renamed Times Square after The New York Times. *1913 - The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution, requiring direct election of Senators, becomes law. *1916 - In Corona, car racer Bob Burman crashes, killing three and badly injuring five spectators. *1918 - World War I: Actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin sell war bonds on the streets of New York's financial district. *1929 - Indian Independence Movement: At Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts, and bombs to court arrest. *1935 - The Works Progress Administration is formed when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935 becomes law. *1940 - World War II: Great Britain and France announce that they have mined Norwegian territorial waters to prevent their use by German supply ships. *1942 - World War II: Siege of Leningrad - Soviet Union forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad. * 1942 - World War II: the Japanese take Bataan in the Philippines. *1943 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases to common carriers and public utilities. *1946 - The last meeting of the League of Nations, the precursor of the United Nations, is held. *1950 - India and Pakistan sign the Pact of Delhi. *1952 - U.S. President Harry S. Truman calls for the seizure of all domestic steel mills to prevent a nationwide strike. *1953 - Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta is convicted by Kenya's British rulers. *1957 - The Suez Canal in Egypt is reopened. *1960 - The U.S. Senate approves a civil rights bill despite Southern senators' marathon filibuster effort. *1973 - 32 terrorist bombings in Cyprus *1974 - Hank Aaron of the Atlanta Braves passes Babe Ruth for first place on Major League Baseball's all-time home run list. Aaron's record would be broken 33 years later by Barry Bonds. *1975 - Frank Robinson manages the Cleveland Indians in his first game as major league baseball's first African American manager. *1985 - Bhopal disaster: India files suit against Union Carbide for the disaster which killed an estimated 2,000 and injured another 200,000. *1987 - Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis resigns amid controversy over racially-charged remarks he had made while on Nightline. *1989 - South Africa: the Democratic Party is formed from the merger of four parties. * 1989 - The two Greek Communist parties, along with smaller left-wing parties, merge to form the Coalition of the Left and Progress in Greece. *1990 - New Democracy wins the national election in Greece. *1992 - Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries. *1999 - Haryana Gana Parishad, a political party in the Indian state of Haryana, merges with the Indian National Congress. *2000 - 19 Marines are killed when an Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crashes near Marana. *2004 - Darfur conflict: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups. * 2004 - U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice testifies before the 9/11 Commission . *2005 - Funeral of Pope John Paul II. *2006 - Shedden massacre: the bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Ontario, Canada. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos motorcycle gang. Births *1320 - King Peter I of Portugal (d. 1367) *1533 - Claudio Merulo, Italian composer (d. 1604) *1541 - Michele Mercati, Italian physician (d. 1593) *1605 - King Philip IV of Spain, (d. 1665) *1641 - Henry Sydney, English statesman (d. 1704) *1692 - Giuseppe Tartini, Italian composer (d. 1770) *1732 - David Rittenhouse, American astronomer, inventor, and mathematician (d. 1796) *1842 - Elizabeth Bacon Custer, wife of George Armstrong Custer (d. 1933) *1818 - August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist (d. 1892) * 1818 - King Christian IX of Denmark (d. 1906) *1827 - Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican politician, medical doctor and diplomat (d. 1898) *1859 - Edmund Husserl, Austrian philosopher (d. 1938) *1865 - Charles W. Woodworth, American entomologist (d. 1940) *1869 - Harvey Cushing, American neuorosurgeon (d. 1939) *1871 - Clarence Hudson White American photographer (d. 1925) *1874 - Stanisław Taczak, Polish general (d. 1960) *1875 - King Albert I of Belgium (d. 1934) *1883 - R. P. Keigwin, English academic (d. 1972) *1888 - Dennis Chavez, American politician (d. 1964) *1889 - Sir Adrian Boult, British conductor (d. 1983) *1892 - Richard Neutra, American architect (d. 1970) * 1892 - Mary Pickford, Canadian actress (d. 1979) *1896 - Yip Harburg, American lyricist (d. 1981) *1904 - John Hicks, British economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1989) *1905 - Helen Joseph, South African anti-apartheid activist (d. 1992) * 1905 - Erwin Keller, German field hockey player (d. 1971) *1906 - Raoul Jobin, French Canadian tenor (d. 1974) *1908 - Hugo Fregonese, Argentine film director (d. 1987) *1910 - George Musso, American football player (d. 2000) *1911 - Melvin Calvin, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1997) * 1911 - Emil Cioran, Romanian philosopher and essayist (d. 1995) *1912 - Alois Brunner, Austrian Nazi * 1912 - Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater and actress (d. 1969) *1914 - María Félix, Mexican actress (d. 2002) *1918 - Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States * 1918 - Glendon Swarthout, American author (d. 1992) *1919 - Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia *1920 - Carmen McRae, American jazz singer (d. 1994) *1921 - Alfie Bass, Emglish actor (d. 1987) * 1921 - Franco Corelli, Italian tenor (d. 2003) * 1921 - Jan Novák, Czech composer (d. 1984) *1923 - George Fisher, American cartoonist (d. 2003) * 1923 - Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (d. 1997) *1924 - Frédéric Back, Canadian short film director and screenwriter * 1924 - Sir Anthony Farrar-Hockley, English soldier and historian (d. 2006) *1926 - Henry N. Cobb, American architect * 1926 - Shecky Greene, American comedian * 1926 - Jürgen Moltmann, German theologian *1928 - Leah Rabin, wife of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (d. 2000) * 1928 - Monty Sunshine, English jazz clarinetist *1929 - Walter Berry, Austrian bass-baritone (d. 2000) * 1929 - Jacques Brel, Belgian singer/composer (d. 1978) * 1929 - Renzo De Felice, Italian historian (d. 1996) *1930 - Carlos Hugo of Bourbon-Parma *1931 - John Gavin, American actor and politician *1933 - Fred Ebb, American composer (d. 2004) *1934 - Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect (d. 2007) *1935 - Albert Bustamante, American politician *1937 - Seymour Hersh, American journalist *1938 - Kofi Annan, Ghanaian United Nations Secretary General *1940 - John Havlicek, American basketball player *1941 - Darlene Gillespie, Canadian-born American actress * 1941 - Peggy Lennon, American singer (The Lennon Sisters) * 1941 - Vivienne Westwood, English fashion designer *1942 - Roger Chapman, British rock singer (Family, Streetwalkers) * 1942 - Douglas Trumbull, American film director *1943 - Tony Banks, British politician (d. 2006) * 1943 - Michael Bennett, American dancer/choreographer (d. 1987) * 1943 - Miller Farr, American football player *1944 - Hywel Bennett, Welsh actor * 1944 - Odd Nerdrum, Norwegian painter *1945 - Derrick Walker, British racing team owner *1946 - Catfish Hunter, American baseball player (d. 1999) * 1946 - Stuart Pankin, American actor * 1946 - Tim Thomerson, American actor *1947 - Tom DeLay, American politician * 1947 - Steve Howe, English guitarist (Yes, Asia, GTR) * 1947 - Robert Kiyosaki, American investor * 1947 - Larry Norman, American singer/songwriter *1948 - Michael Leshner, Canadian lawyer and gay rights advocate *1949 - John Madden, English film director * 1949 - Brenda Russell, American singer/songwriter *1950 - Grzegorz Lato, Polish footballer *1954 - Gary Carter, American baseball player *1955 - Ricky Bell, American football player (d. 1984) * 1955 - Barbara Kingsolver, American novelist * 1955 - David Wu, Taiwanese-born American politician *1956 - Kane Hodder, American actor and stuntman *1957 - Fred Smerlas, American football player *1960 - John Schneider, American actor *1962 - Izzy Stradlin, American musician (Guns N' Roses) *1963 - Julian Lennon, English musician and singer * 1963 - Alec Stewart, English cricketer * 1963 - Seth Tobias, American financial commentator (d. 2007) *1964 - Lisa Guerrero, American sports broadcaster * 1964 - Biz Markie, American rapper/disc jockey *1965 - Michael Niko Jones, former All Black & New Zealand rugby player *1966 - Mark Blundell, British racing driver * 1966 - Mazinho, Brazilian footballer * 1966 - Bobby Ologun, Nigerian television personality * 1966 - Robin Wright Penn, American actress *1968 - Patricia Arquette, American actress * 1968 - Tracy Grammer, American folk singer *1970 - Sami Lukis, Australian journalist and television presenter *1971 - Chino XL, American rapper *1972 - Paul Gray, American bassist (Slipknot) *1973 - Khaled Badra, Tunisian soccer player * 1973 - Emma Caulfield, American actress * 1973 - Alex S. Gonzalez, American baseball player *1974 - Holger Hott Johansen, Norwegian orienteerist *1975 - Timo Pérez, Dominican baseball player *1977 - Mark Spencer, American computer programmer *1978 - Ana de la Reguera, Mexican actress *1979 - Jeremy Guthrie, American baseball player * 1979 - Alexi Laiho, Finnish guitarist and singer (Children of Bodom) *1980 - Manuel Ortega, Austrian singer * 1980 - Katee Sackhoff, American actress *1981 - Brian Burres, American baseball player *1982 - Judy Star, Canadian porn star *1983 - Allu Arjun, Indian film actor * 1983 - Adrian Bellani, American actor *1984 - Júlia Liptáková, Slovakian model * 1984 - Taran Noah Smith, American actor * 1984 - Kirsten Storms, American actress *1986 - Igor Akinfeev, Russian footballer * 1986 - Félix Hernández, Venezuelan baseball player * 1986 - Erika Sawajiri, Japanese actress and model *1989 - Hitomi Takahashi, Japanese singer *1992 - Shelby Young, American actress *2005 - Leah Isadora Behn, member of Norway's Royal Family Deaths * 217 - Caracalla, Roman Emperor (b. 186) * 956 - Gilbert of Chalon, Duke of Burgundy *1143 - John II Comnenus, Byzantine Emperor (b. 1087) *1364 - King John II of France (b. 1319) *1461 - Georg Purbach, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1423) *1492 - Lorenzo de Medici, ruler of Florence (b. 1449) *1586 - Martin Chemnitz, Lutheran reformer and theologian (b. 1522) *1587 - John Foxe, English writer (b. 1516) *1691 - Carlo Rainaldi, Italian architect (b. 1611) *1697 - Niels Juel, Danish admiral (b. 1629) *1704 - Hiob Ludolf, German orientalist (b. 1624) * 1704 - Henry Sydney, English statesman (b. 1641) *1725 - John Wise, English clergyman (b. 1652) *1735 - Francis II Rákóczi, leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburg (b. March 27, 1676) *1848 - Gaetano Donizetti, Italian composer (b. 1797) *1857 - Mangal Pandey, Indian soldier *1861 - Elisha Otis, American elevator builder (b. 1811) *1870 - Charles de Bériot, Belgian composer (b. 1802) *1919 - Loránd Eötvös, Hungarian physicist (b. 1848) *1920 - Charles Tomlinson Griffes, American composer (b. 1884) *1931 - Erik Axel Karlfeldt, Swedish writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1864) *1936 - Robert Bárány, Austrian physician, Nobel laureate (b. 1876) *1938 - Joe "King" Oliver, American musician (b. 1885) *1942 - Kostas Skarvelis, Greek songwriter (b. 1880) *1950 - Vaslav Nijinsky, Polish-born ballet dancer (b. 1890) *1965 - Lars Hanson, Swedish actor (b. 1886) *1973 - Pablo Picasso, Spanish artist and sculptor(b. 1881) *1974 - James Charles McGuigan, Catholic archbishop of Toronto (b. 1894) *1978 - Ford Frick, American baseball commissioner (b. 1894) *1981 - Omar Bradley, U.S. general (b. 1893) *1984 - Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1894) *1985 - J. Fred Coots, American songwriter (b. 1897) *1986 - Yukiko Okada, Japanese idol singer (b. 1967) *1990 - Ryan White, American AIDS activist (b. 1971) *1992 - Daniel Bovet, Swiss-born pharmacologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1907) *1993 - Marian Anderson, American contralto (b. 1897) *1994 - François Rozet, French Canadian actor (b. 1899) *1996 - George W. Jenkins, American businessman (b. 1907) * 1996 - Ben Johnson, American actor (b. 1918) * 1996 - León Klimovsky, Argentine film director (b. 1906) *1997 - Laura Nyro, American singer and composer (b. 1947) *2000 - Claire Trevor, American actress (b. 1910) *2002 - María Félix, Mexican actress (b. 1914) *2004 - Bruce Edwards, American golf caddy for Tom Watson (b. 1954) *2005 - Eddie Miksis, American baseball player (b. 1926) * 2005 - Onna White, Canadian choreographer (b. 1924) *2006 - Gerard Reve, Dutch writer (b. 1923) *2007 - Sol LeWitt, American artist (b. 1928) * 2007 - Bill Mescher, American politician (b. 1927) Holidays and observances * Buddha's Birthday in Japan * Saint Walter of Pontoise (died 1099) * Saint Constance * Saint Julie Billiart of Namur (died 1816). * Feast for Three Days - First Day (Thelema) * International day of the Roma External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- April 08